iOS 7.1 Update is now generally available

With all the rumors that users would need to be running iOS 7.1 to stream this year’s iTunes Festival beginning March 11, 2014 it was inevitable that iOS 7.1 would be released prior to the festival and guess what, it was released today.

As Apple is so fond of saying “The most advanced mobile OS keeps advancing”. This is a major release and less then 6 months after the compete redesign introduced with iOS 7. iOS 7.1 comes with many enhancements, bug fixes and the much anticipated Apple CarPlay. Unfortunately the Apple CarPlay will is only available at this time in cars offered by Volvo, Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz. Also user can feel free to change the Siri voice to a more natural sounding UK or Australian English, Mandarin Chinese or Japanese. Missed seeing your calendar events in that much loved iOS 6 presentation? Now you have more display options. Personalize your screens from the lock screen to your phone screen as well as the Music and your Reminders.

This update can be downloaded and installed by clicking Settings > General > Software Update.

Release notes accompanying the update state that it includes “improvements and bug fixes.” According to Apple, those are:

CarPlay

iOS experience designed for the car

Simply connect your iPhone to a CarPlay enabled vehicle

Supports Phone, Music, Maps, Messages, and 3rd-party audio apps

Control with Siri and the car’s touchscreen, knobs, and buttons

Siri:

Manually control when Siri listens by holding down the home button while you speak and releasing it when you’re done as an alternative to letting Siri automatically notice when you stop talking

New, more natural sounding male and female voices for Mandarin Chinese, UK English, Australian English, and Japanese

iTunes Radio:

Search field above Featured Stations to easily create stations based on your favorite artist or song

Buy albums with the tap of a button from Now Playing

Subscribe to iTunes Match on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to enjoy iTunes Radio ad-free

Calendar:

Option to display events in month view

Country specific holidays automatically added for many countries

Accessibility:

Bold font option now includes the keyboard, calculator, and many icon glyphs